


Rumor

by PhoenixMother0958



Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Crying, Gossip, Hanahaki Disease, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Makoto has freckles, Soft Togami Byakuya, forced confession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:48:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29828643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixMother0958/pseuds/PhoenixMother0958
Summary: There seemed to be thousands of things rolling around the gossip of Hope's Peak Academy. Dozens of tiny things and uninteresting tidbits that still circulated years after the afflicted students had graduated and moved on with their lives. It became a sort of ritual for classes to indulge in the latest rumors about their peers across campus and even starting some themselves.The latest rumor of the school involved even the Reserve Course department. A rumor so detailed and complex that even the teachers were in on it."Someone in the school has Hanahaki."
Relationships: Naegi Makoto/Togami Byakuya
Comments: 7
Kudos: 72





	Rumor

**Author's Note:**

> What's up?! I'm back with another Dangan Ronpa fic that I wrote at 2am! I wrote it on Saturday night(Or Sunday morning) And didn't get to sleep until 5 am. It was awesome! I hope ya'll like this.

There seemed to be thousands of things rolling around the gossip of Hope's Peak Academy. Dozens of tiny things and uninteresting tidbits that still circulated years after the afflicted students had graduated and moved on with their lives. It became a sort of ritual for classes to indulge in the latest rumors about their peers across campus and even starting some themselves. They were great as long as they were not about you or your closest friends. So if one begins for you, it would be best to start a bigger one about someone else or bring an older rumor back to the stage.

The latest rumor of the school involved even the Reserve Course department. A rumor so detailed and complex that even the teachers were in on it.

"Someone in the school has Hanahaki."

It had started like any other rumor; a student claiming they saw something they shouldn't have. However, it wasn't just the one student. Multiple students stumbled across bloodied petals in the hallways and locker rooms of the school. Bright tiffany blue flower petals stained with drying blood on the white linoleum tiles of the building.

Pictures began to be shared and theories popped up around the school. Some suspected the petals to be staged, but when police were called, they confirmed it was real blood. When trying to pry the identity of the diseased from the officers, they deemed the information classified or didn't feel the need to spill the truth.

The entire student body kept their heads on a swivel. Keeping their eyes on their peers to catch someone hacking up flowers. But, despite their greatest efforts, bloodied petals would always turn up with no evidence of who spat them out.

So began the biggest rumor in the history of Hope's Peak Academy. The race to reveal the diseased, and most likely doomed, student.

Byakuya thought the rumor was absolutely revolting. Not just because it was meaningless gossip, but because the afflicted student never took initiative to even attempt to clean their mess. Hanahaki wasn't contagious, he knew that. But blood certainly could be and he didn't want to risk sullying his pristine shoes with a commoner's disgusting blood.

"Is it impossible for you all to be quiet about this trivial rumor? Some of us are actually trying to focus." He snapped one day. Or, well, he snapped a third time this week. His classmates were used to it, but his authority kept them quiet for all of three minutes before it started back up again. They were having way too much fun with this rumor, but he wouldn't take part in it.

"Come on, Kuya," Hiro said, using that horrific nickname he definitely disapproved of but the one everyone still used to address him if for no reason but to mock him. "Lighten up a little! You've got to be at least 20% interested in this. I mean, don't you wanna know who it is?"

"Of course I don't," He seethed, brow twitching in annoyance. His classmates still stared at him expectantly, whispering amongst themselves as he stared them down. "It would be better for the diseased to seek help or leave the school entirely. It's a nuisance."

The blonde stood from his seat and exited the classroom without another word. Curse this school and their abundance of freetime during the day. The classes were the only thing that helped his sanity; keeping the constant drone of the other ultimates at bay for a time before they continued as soon as their teacher snapped their binder shut. Byakuya was so lost in his own rage that he didn't see the bloody petals until it was too late. His one nightmare that popped up from this rumor becoming a reality.

He stopped himself from screaming in rage, merely lifting his foot off the blood and flowers and checking the damage as he leaned on the wall. Thankfully, there was only a small drop of blood, but the Ultimate Affluent Progeny felt bile rise to his throat as he swiped at it with a handkerchief.

He looked around the hall for a second before he bent down to take a closer look at the petals. They were definitely as vibrant as the rumors described. Basically glittering in the white light of the hallway. 'Pretty' almost spilled past his lips, but he stopped before the first consonant made its way up.

It would be unseemly for the heir to be seen kneeling near bloodied petals, so he stood tall. He was determined to disappear into the library before someone saw him, but a hacking cough immediately caught his attention. Byakuya blinked slowly, turning toward the sound after a moment as it continued. It sounded agonizing and filled with so much despair that he couldn't stop himself from stalking forward and rounding the corner to the stairs.

And there, he found Makoto Naegi. Hacking up tiffany blue flower petals and blood by the railing of the second floor stairs. He hadn't noticed Byakuya staring at him, his eyes shut tight with tears streaming down his face. The heir couldn't look away from the terrifying scene of the Ultimate Lucky Student spitting up flowers, body wracking with a sob that looked as painful as it sounded. Makoto spit up another two flower petals, wheezing in pain for a moment before he opened his eyes.

They were hazy for a moment as he tried to register the scene in front of him, but he soon realized it was Byakuya. Then everything happened so fast. Makoto let out a yelp and spinning on his heel to hightail his ass out of there. Byakuya immediately following. Grabbing his arm and dragging him into a bathroom. The brunette flailing and crying and begging for mercy as he was shoved into a stall and forced to sit down in front of a man who could literally sue the nation with the snap of his fingers.

"B-Byakuya," Makoto began, voice rough and hoarse from all the hacking, blood on the corner of his lips, "Please, please don't tell anyone about this, I'm sorry. I-I'll stay home, just don-" Byakuya scowled, effectively shutting the commoner up.

"Do you realize how expensive these shoes were, Makoto?" The brunette looked confused for a second before his eyes widened once again. He opened his mouth, assumedly ready to apologize before Byakuya spoke again. "I don't care whether or not you're cured, Makoto. But couldn't you have made an effort to at least clean the messes you made around this school? It's revolting how careless you are."

Makoto shrunk back against the toilet seat, curling up defensively and shaking. "I-I tried, but they always found the petals b-before I could get to them... I promise I wasn't-" He took a deep breath, but something like a flutter sounded from his throat and he coughed again. Turning away from Byakuya's uniform to cough into the corner of the stall. Hacking up a few loose petals strung together by a thick thread of blood. It held for just a moment before the string snapped and the petals fluttered to the ground, weighed down by dark scarlet. He wheezed for just a second before he shakily reached for the toilet paper. Trying his hardest to clean up the mess he made in front of the blonde. The heir scowled again, leaning against the opposite wall as he watched the pathetic boy clean up.

"So you are listening. Good." Makoto dropped the soiled toilet paper into the trash can as he tried to catch his breath again. Breathing out a quick "'m sorry..." As he straightened back up. Byakuya waved it off, squinting at the ahoge haired boy as he pushed off the wall.

"I don't care whether you live or die, but answer me just one question, Makoto. It would be good to have information held above the heads of our peers." The brunette wiped some blood off his lip, staring at him expectantly. Not in any position to say no. "Who is it? The one you ‘love?’"

He said 'love' like it was a detestable thing. A word so below him it wasn't even fit to be stamped into the ground by his cheapest, most ill fitting shoes. Makoto looked panicked. Even more so than when Byakuya first found him hacking up flowers by the stairs. And that was certainly saying something.

"Well? I don't like to be kept waiting, Makoto." He said impatiently. It was one thing to keep a student waiting. It was an entirely different thing to keep the heir to the Togami Corporation waiting. It may as well be made illegal, but more than half of the population would be in prison. And there weren't enough cells for so many people.

"... It's you." Makoto said, voice so impossibly quiet, it was almost infuriating.

"What did you say?" Byakuya pushed off of the wall, taking a step toward the diseased boy. Makoto's lip quivered as he tried to get his voice back out. Eyes wide and tear filled.

"I'm in love... With you..." He said as loud as his hoarse voice would allow him.

Byakuya stared for what felt like hours. It was still and silent for a while all except for Makoto's labored breathing. Then he walked out of the bathroom without a word.

Byakuya finally found his way to the library. Slipping into a chair quietly with his newest book. He read for all of twenty minutes before he realized he hadn't retained any information and his mind was focused solely on Makoto.

“Damn it.”

Soon enough, he had to head back to class and hear more about that damned rumor. A rumor he knew almost everything about now. The heir sighed as he slid into his seat, eyes drifting to the brunette in the room as he spoke quietly with Sayaka and Kyoko.

"Oh, Makoto," He heard the Ultimate Pop Sensation say. "Your voice is so quiet today. Are you feeling well?" She put a hand on his forehead and he heard Kyoko mention how pale he looked as well. Eventually Hina, his best friend, slid up next to him and offered to take him to the infirmary. Or, better yet, home. He denied these things, simply saying it was a bug.

The day finally ended, but Makoto stayed behind in the classroom. It was honestly pathetic how quickly his so-called "friends" left for home without offering further help. The heir stared at him from the back of the classroom, listening to him wheeze quietly and trying desperately to catch breath stolen by the flowers in his lungs. Flowers that strangely resembled the heir's eyes, only brighter.

Makoto lifted his head and turned to the blonde. An agonized look on his face as they met eyes and then he immediately looked away. Standing shakily from his seat, the brunette grabbed his bag and staggered to the door.

"Wait," Byakuya commanded, standing as well and walking over to the frozen Makoto. "It's been getting worse recently and you walk home. Naturally it would be dangerous if you spit up flowers on the road."

Makoto gawked, eyes wide as he stared ahead. "So grab a plastic bag and follow me. If you get blood in my car I'll kill you before the flowers do." He pushed past him, leaving no room for discussion. Soon enough, he heard Makoto's shoes click against the linoleum as he struggled to keep up with his long stride.

The heir's car was sleek black and impossibly clean. Untouched by any commoners, but he was about to let a diseased boy into it. Byakuya shut his conscience up with an internal snap of his fingers, letting Makoto into the car and making sure he keeps the bag in his hands. He sounded like he was fighting for breath. There was no way he would have made it home in one piece if he could barely make it to his car.

Byakuya let him punch in his address and drove him home. Luckily, Makoto didn't seem to puke up anything on the way there. Clearing his throat a few times before going silent again. The heir watched as the brunette got out and walked to his door and was just about to drive off but decided to wait a moment.

He stared at Makoto as he rummaged through his bag and, Stars, he could practically hear the boy gasping for breath as he tried to look for his key. It ended with Makoto dropping his bag and leaning on the door to take as many deep breaths as he could. A strangled whimper escaping him as he spat out one small petal.

"Makoto," Byakuya called. It took a moment for him to turn and look at him. Movements shaky and uncertain. "Come on." He gestured for him to come back into the car. It was certainly out of character for a Togami; caring enough to not let a diseased boy die on his doorstep for his family and neighbors to find, drowning in his own blood and bright misleading flowers.

Makoto carefully leaned down to pick his bag back up and make his way back to the car. Settling back into the seat with a soft thump. A wheeze, that sounded a lot like a thank you, escaped him once his seatbelt clicked and the car began to move again.

The Togami mansion was huge. Almost like a palace and this was only one of the many houses they had. Makoto was immediately overwhelmed, shrinking back against the expensive leather of the vehicle. Byakuya smirked at his awe filled face and got out, demanding he do the same. He kept his stride shorter this time, not risking the brunette having another fit inside the house.

When they finally reached Byakuya's room, Makoto was wheezing pathetically. A few stray tears passed down his soft cheek bones as he looked around the luxurious room. He instructed him to sit and Makoto looked around, slightly panicked, before he chose a table by the large grand piano.

His breathing was a bit easier; looking at the piano seemed to calm his nerves a bit. Slowly, quietly, he pulled out his homework and began working on it for no reason other than to keep himself busy. Byakuya had already completed his own work during free time. But the brunette was much too busy coughing up petals to do his own.

Byakuya observed him quietly as his breath came out easier. It seemed Makoto didn't show too many symptoms if he was distracted enough. Soon, however, he completed his homework and shoved it into his bag after checking over it multiple times. Then began to stare pointedly at the piano. It took a few moments for him to form his next words.

"You play?" He asked, answer obvious, but he wanted to make conversation anyway. Byakuya squinted at him, making the brunette squirm in his seat. Then he sat down on the piano bench. Makoto watched him as he plunked a few notes, adjusted the seat, thought for a moment and then began to play a beautiful melody.

Makoto seemed immediately entranced by the music. The heir's fingers moving across the keys elegantly and perfectly practiced. There were no room for mistakes in his performance and Makoto knew it. Eyes fixed on him and he looked like he was barely breathing. Which... Normally would be very endearing, but not when said boy had a life threatening disease. By the time Byakuya realized the boy could barely breathe, he was already hacking up flowers. Coughing so violently that his entire body shook.

The blonde watched from his place at the piano, fingers now stilled, the horror of Hanahaki. Makoto scratched at his throat, trying desperately to fill his lungs with air only for petals to fill his windpipe. For a few moments, nothing came up. Then a huge pile of petals came fluttering out from the brunette's mouth to the tiles of Byakuya's room. Blood spewed from his nose as he hacked and sobbed and writhed in agony. It was hard to watch Makoto slip out of the chair and crumple to the floor. On his hands and knees now, a lump in his throat that one could only assume was an entire flower.

One last bloody heave pushed the sparkling flower from his throat. Plopping into the pile of bloodied petals was the most gorgeous flower Byakuya had ever laid his eyes on. It was so mystical, he nearly forgot that it had been hacked up by a half dead commoner.

Said commoner now flopped to the side, completely still. It took only a moment for the panic to set in and he jumped from the bench. Putting his finger on Makoto's pulse point to find his heart still beating. But so, so weak...

Slowly, Byakuya lifted the boy into his arms and put him onto his bed. He felt responsible for the agony dealt to Makoto, but it was his own fault for falling in love in the first place. So he wasn't entirely at fault, especially since Makoto decided to suffer in silence.

Oh, who was he kidding? He would have rejected the boy without a second thought. He wouldn't have even needed words to reject him. Why use words where a simple glance would do the trick?

The blonde huffed as he stared at the boy in his bed. He had noticed, when he picked him up, that Makoto smells a lot more like flowers than he does blood. He hadn't heard that the scent of the flowers smelled stronger than the blood spilled, but maybe he was looking into it too much.

The Ultimate Lucky Student stayed asleep for a couple of hours. Waking up with an agonized groan too quiet to wake even mice. He had hacked himself hoarse. Byakuya sat in a chair near him, holding a book open as he watched him awaken. The blood and flower petals seemed to be gone without a trace, but the blonde had put the full flower in a glass case on his window sill. It was just... Too pretty not to keep but he'd never let Makoto see it.

Makoto stared at him, sitting up. Then a flash of panic in his eye again. His mouth opened, but no sound came out, causing him to grimace and hold his throat. Then he gestured for his phone, to which Byakuya shook his head.

"You'll be staying here for the night. I had servants of mine inform your family," Makoto tilted his head cutely...

Wait, what?!

"I can't have you going home like that, now can I?" He ignored the inappropriate thoughts and pointed to a door. "There's the bathroom. Get ready for bed. You'll be sleeping in my room," He leaned forward, grimacing moreso to himself than to Makoto. "Be grateful I'm willing to help a low life such as you." He shooed him off of his bed and Makoto carefully made his way to the door.

A few minutes later, he heard a loud thump and he sighed, snapping his book shut before he threw open the bathroom door. Makoto was in the tub, rubbing the back of his head that he obviously bumped on the edge of the tub like the idiot he was.

Byakuya sighed as the brunette curled up, face turning pink as he tried to cover himself up beneath the surface of the water. "Do I have to supervise you here as well? Can you not do something so simple by yourself?" Makoto shook his head, embarrassed. There were a couple of petals floating in the tub, blood mixing into the water and dissipating. Byakuya had already sat down, watching the petals move with the ripples of the water as Makoto shifted just slightly.

He had brought his book in, so he focused on that instead. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Makoto uncurl and begin to wash up. Hearing the water splash onto his face and a few coughs for good measure. Three more petals fell to the water and Byakuya guessed Makoto was done for the day if his slump was anything to go by.

The heir was quiet as he slid his book down on the counter. Standing and grabbing a towel from the rack. Extremely fluffy and a deep green that seemed to match the hoodie he always wore. He held it in front of him, gesturing for Makoto to get up and dry off, but was only met with an embarrassed shake of the head.

"Makoto," He said with an air of finality and the Ultimate Lucky Student began to stand up in the tub carefully. The water began to drain, but he tossed the petals into the bathroom trash can as he stepped into the towel. He was impossibly wobbly and Byakuya did not want him to have yet another spill, so he wrapped him in the towel and guided him out.

Makoto shook his head again, water sliding off of his arms and legs not covered by the towel. Silently telling Byakuya that he could do this himself. The heir wasn't buying it. He sat the brunette on a chair and helped dry him off. Makoto was so embarrassed he was nearly on the verge of tears.

His crush, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, richest teen in the country, asshole to everyone and everything, was drying him off with a towel so fluffy it could pass for an animal.

Byakuya pulled the towel open then, exposing Makoto to the cool air. The boy shivered and squeaked and hid his darkening face in his hands. Byakuya watched, amused at the turn of events and his own perverted nature.

"Just look at you, Makoto," He began, running a hand down his side and to his thigh. "You're so tiny. Like I could break you into little pieces or watch you suffocate again while I play piano." The brunette peeked through his fingers, shivering in the cold and squirming in the chair.

"It's funny, really. I actually find you oddly alluring," The heir walked his fingers toward his inner thigh, coaxing Makoto's freckled legs apart. He complied. "I wonder why that is... What have you done to me?"

Makoto looked just about ready to explode, but before anything else could happen, Byakuya tossed a sleeping shirt at him. Standing straight up and peering down at the brunette still shuddering in his chair.

"I'll cure you of your illness, Makoto. Let's get rid of that rumor," He lifted his hand to the bed. "In one night."

**Author's Note:**

> Sup. So, how was it? I left the ending open because I just couldn't decide whether or not they were going to have a happy ending. My sister suggested I write both, but I decided to leave it up to you guys! Write in the comments your interpretation of the ending and whether or not these two getting it on makes Byakuya fall in love and cures Makoto. Or... Makoto dies. Good luck!


End file.
